Jaco's Bass

Alright, people are probly going to make threats on my well being, but I don't know anything about Jaco, but I was at www.axemusic.com and they had the "Jaco Pastorius Fender Jazz Bass Guitar" so I just thought all you Jaco fans might be interested.

personally i think its ridiculous to pay more for something that is beaten up....lets be honest hear..the true jaco legacy with his bass was the fact that it was him that made it so worn out cuz he was such a maniac on the bass.....i think that if you want that look to your bass you should earn it _on_ the bass by having the wear and tear legitimate....i mean...isnt there so much more pride in looking at an old bass and knowing that you were the one who brought it to that state...so then you can think about the time when you first realized that you played better with sweaty palms and fingers......we all know jaco was a _little_ bit "jacked" up most of the time......just look at the guy....his bass represented his personality wonderfully....he was a sight for most poeples sore eyes and so was his bass.....but i dont need to get involved in all the image crap.......yes an old fender jazz bass was his deal.....and damn i love that sound to no end....but believe me if i were to buy one i would go for the one that was in the best shape even if i could have the original that jaco played on....im just being realistic....to have to pay extra to get a reissue that is in less than good condition and may not even sound as chunky is dumb.....lets take a vote.....jaco reissue or an original 60' or 62' fender.......id be going for the original......just my 2 canadian pennies which isnt even 1 american penny so ill shut up......peace...also its not as if the stuff on jacos fretboard is from mars or anything.....i dont see that as being that tight of a feature.....peace...little robbie...who just picked up an EH small stone for 50 canadian dollars.....

First off, the Relic is hand built in the Custom Shop, so it is a way better bass than the tribute. Second, obviously some of you guys have never had a real old Fender, or you would know that those thin coats of nitro-cellulose lacquer scratch real easy. Most all working basses are scratched up. If they're original finish, and they're mint, there's a reason, and that reason is my third point, that not all old Fenders are good. Back in those days, quality control was very different to what it is today. I've played old Fenders that are sweet, and I've played old Fenders that are dogs. Stands to reason that the good ones get played, and so get scratched. The dogs get put in the closet, only to be "discovered" 25 years later with nary a mark on them, still got the hang tags, hmmm...we should get $5000 or more for this puppy.
Back to the first point, the dollars you are spending on a relic are not just for the rust, you are paying for a Fender that's way, way better. I have a friend with a relic Tele, and it's an awesome machine, you would not find a better Tele anywhere.

I got to test drive the Jaco Relic bass a couple years ago in New Jersey.

It's rather expensive, close to $3000, if memory serves.

It is one of the best fretless sounds I ever heard. Absolutely phenomenal.

The salesman says, "You're trying to sound like Jaco, right." I said, "Well, kinda, I guess." He replied, "Come on, you'd love to have that sound--stop denying it." I said, "Yeah, OK. You're right." He quips, "There's the price tag. Now you know how to get that sound."

Not everybody is trying to cop the Jaco sound--Zon and Furlanetto basses have a different, lively sound that works for some. But if you want the Jaco tone--and you know you want it at least sometimes--then this bass is the way to go.

k so some of you say that an original fender jazz bass is not necessarily going to cop the jaco sound.....but the custom shop one is guaranteed to have that sound?
on another note.....did he use flatwounds like bootsy? flatwounds i have noticed are great when you have a bandpass filter(wah) cuz it gives the filter more to .well..filter.....haha....i always wonder how good flatwounds would be on a 5 string? peace....

Originally posted by maimz k so some of you say that an original fender jazz bass is not necessarily going to cop the jaco sound.....but the custom shop one is guaranteed to have that sound?

From what I read no one said that here. An original Fender Jazz is not guaranteed to sound like anything but what it is. They don't all sound alike. They can't.

A Custom Shop Jazz isn't guaranteed to sound like one particular thing either.

on another note.....did he use flatwounds like bootsy? flatwounds i have noticed are great when you have a bandpass filter(wah) cuz it gives the filter more to .well..filter.....haha....i always wonder how good flatwounds would be on a 5 string? peace....

in that case i will revert to my old opinion that this whole jaco reissue thing is a bunch of crap....if there are no guarantees why pay that kind of money for something that will not necessarily fulfill the hype.....i mean...honestly if there are so many factors in a basses sound which is something i wholeheartedly agree with then its the same old bunch corporate scum making money off of a dead man.....

marty said:

"not all old Fenders are good. Back in those days, quality control was very different to what it is today"

ok well if this is true then it is not that big of a stretch to assume that all of the reissues will be of the upmost quality...and all be the same as the last one....right?

thats all i was getting at brad....sorry to paraphrase a bit....

Originally posted by maimz
"k so some of you say that an original fender jazz bass is not necessarily going to cop the jaco sound.....but the custom shop one is guaranteed to have that sound? "

brad said:
"From what I read no one said that here. An original Fender Jazz is not guaranteed to sound like anything but what it is. They don't all sound alike. They can't."

when did i say that all original fender jazz basses are guaranteed to sound alike> now your putting words in my mouth bro....i was stating the same thing as you ....and that is the fact that not all jazz basses will sound the same......plain and simple

that is what i was wondering.....if this is the case then i firmly believe that it becomes a redundant product.....but of course they will not tell you that at the store......if you cannot be sure that you will get your full expectations out of a product then i dont think it should be purchased....on a side note....how close are the new american jazz basses when compared to the early models....

Well little robbie, I'm afraid you miss the whole point of the Jaco bass. The point is to recreate a bass as close as possible to the one Jaco played, right down to the epoxy on the rosewood fretboard, while keeping it a great playing and sounding instrument. Fender makes no claims or guarantees that any bass is going to make you sound just like anybody. I own a Geddy Lee jazz. It does not make me sound like Geddy Lee and I never once dreamed for a minute that it would. I did, however, want the features that bass offers, most important of which to me is the neck profile, which you can't buy on any other Fender outside of the Custom Shop.

The player who buys a Jaco bass does so for their own reasons, but I sincerely doubt many of them do because they really believe it will make them sound just like Jaco.

The tone is in your hands, Jaco said that.

And the good news is you don't have to buy anything you don't want to buy.

Originally posted by maimz in that case i will revert to my old opinion that this whole jaco reissue thing is a bunch of crap....if there are no guarantees why pay that kind of money for something that will not necessarily fulfill the hype.....i mean...honestly if there are so many factors in a basses sound which is something i wholeheartedly agree with then its the same old bunch corporate scum making money off of a dead man.....

marty said:

"not all old Fenders are good. Back in those days, quality control was very different to what it is today"

ok well if this is true then it is not that big of a stretch to assume that all of the reissues will be of the upmost quality...and all be the same as the last one....right?

thats all i was getting at brad....sorry to paraphrase a bit....

Originally posted by maimz
"k so some of you say that an original fender jazz bass is not necessarily going to cop the jaco sound.....but the custom shop one is guaranteed to have that sound? "

brad said:
"From what I read no one said that here. An original Fender Jazz is not guaranteed to sound like anything but what it is. They don't all sound alike. They can't."

when did i say that all original fender jazz basses are guaranteed to sound alike> now your putting words in my mouth bro....i was stating the same thing as you ....and that is the fact that not all jazz basses will sound the same......plain and simple

that is what i was wondering.....if this is the case then i firmly believe that it becomes a redundant product.....but of course they will not tell you that at the store......if you cannot be sure that you will get your full expectations out of a product then i dont think it should be purchased....on a side note....how close are the new american jazz basses when compared to the early models....

thanks...little robbie....

Click to expand...

You know, for a minute I actually thought about responding to this, then I saw the nonsense about putting words in your mouth so I think my short answer will suffice:

The whole idea of the relic Jaco bass is sort of a remembrance or nostalgic thing people do to Jaco. It's like an art for people to appreciate. I'm assuming when people get the relic issue, they're probably not going to use it too much. Cause what's the point in getting all those "wear" re-created authentically and wear 'em more yourself. You know what I mean? The "wear" and the "rust" is the art; or an appreciation thing people do to Jaco. Heck, if you think that way, then don't buy them.

If you show someone who's never understood the priceless value of picasso's art, the minute they saw one, they're not gonna understand it cost hundreds of thousands of dollar!! But to a collector, it's a different story.

"If you show someone who's never understood the priceless value of picasso's art, the minute they saw one, they're not gonna understand it cost hundreds of thousands of dollar!! But to a collector, it's a different story""

ok....that is as valid as it gets.....and that is in tune with what i was saying.....if i was to recreate a pablo picasso painting in my factory and call it the pablo picasso tribute.......i would get laughed at!!

also a reissue isnt worth a damn thing to a collector....you think the real jaco bass would be as cheap to buy as the tribute bass.......not in a million years.....the person selling it wouldnt let that happen.

now onto the companies doing this crap.....all it does is hype up a product and in all this hype it makes the original fender jazz basses worth way more......cuz like i said the original whether it is jacos or not will be valued more than anything that just popped off the line.....

peace....btw....how do i quote and have it bolded...and brad...is it really necessary to hightlight my whole post ....or is that the only way a quote can be used?